Major change in structure of Army; Integrated Battle Groups announced 

Indian army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday announced the creation of the much-awaited Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs).

Speaking at a Kargil Vijay Diwas event, General Dwivedi said that these IBGs will be named ‘Rudra’, and will integrate various fighting components like infantry, mechanised infantry, armoured units, artillery, special forces, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

This is a major change to the force structure of the Army.

These IBGs will have specially-designed logistics support and combat support. In line with this, agile and lethal special forces units, known as ‘Bhairav’, are being formed as Light Commando Battalions.

The Army chief said these units are ready to counter enemy threats on the borders. Every infantry battalion now has drone platoons, while artillery has enhanced its firepower through Loiter Munition Batteries. The Army Air Defence is also being equipped with indigenous systems.

Creation of IBG’s is part of a series of steps to restructure the Army to make it leaner and more agile.

According to sources, the IBGs on the western front will have different equipment, training and attack tactics than the ones along the Himalayas facing China.

The IBGs will not require new raisings or inductions. Instead, they will involve integrating existing elements of infantry, tank regiments, artillery, UAVs, engineers and signals.

In 2023, commanders of the Army decided to restructure the force in phases to convert it into a lean and mean 21^st-century force. All suggested operational aspects such as having integrated battle groups have been validated in exercises in Punjab in 2013.

A 2022 study on “Re-organisation and Rightsizing of the Indian Army” has reviewed operational structures to make them efficient and future-ready by taking into account the operational situation on western and northern borders. The IBGs are part of this.